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I have a dream, (sometimes wakes me up sweating, dont know why), of walking into our local animal "shelter"and seeing the cages empty. It is eerily quiet as I walk through and leave by the back door. I think what was most disturbing is that we kill thousands of adoptable animals each year, and that may be why it was empty. But I know we can change the outlook of the community and shelter administrations that are tied up in this old way of thinking.
So when I see a headline like "Toronto Animal Services South has no dogs for adoption" I want to know more. I suspect, since it made the news, that it is somewhat out of the ordinary. Can anyone tell me some things about that shelter, and perhaps about the population? It said Toronto South, which presupposes that there is a North, and perhaps others? How many people do they serve of the 5 million or so in the area. We only have 500K or so, but between the shelters we kill thousands each year, mostly adoptable. Are the homes more urban, or more rural. Are dog licenses $20 for each one like ours? Do their animal control officers catch and hold pets, charging fines and costs averaging $100 and up? Is there a voucher program that underwrites the costs of spay/neuter? Are they better at building fences that prevent strays? I assume their dogs and cats like each other as much as ours do - do they keep them separated better, are they mostly altered, or do they prevent from seeing all those pictures of naked cats and dogs in Bark magazine and distribute a lot of condoms?
I have heard that Canadian pet owners care more for their pets, yet of the people I know here most care a lot about their pets. There are pockets spread throughout who cannot pay even the extra cost above a voucher, and there are those who do not seem to understand the need for s/n. That is why we started communitypets.org, to work in that niche. But dont those same pockets exist in Toronto?
What else can I glean from the Toronto experience that might be helpful?